End of August, beginning of September

It is the last day of August. We have taken Elaine to university and after 24 hours she seems to be fine. Arthur was here to act all big-brotherly for the send-off, and then headed back to his own university. The empty nest phase of our life may have begun.

Of course we had our week of western holiday, but since we came back, we've been focused on packing and sorting and laundry and whatever. I did not manage to finish the long underwear for Elaine, but, won't it be fun for her to get a package in the mail?

I finished knitting something else today.

Some time ago, like about two weeks ago, I finished a little shoulder shawl out of this yarn, but I used 10mm needles and it was just too dense, and by some weird accident of knitting, all the flowers ended up on one end of the piece.

So I rummaged around and found my 19mm needle and one 15mm needle, and just knit the next scarf while unraveling the first.

I fudged here and there with a purl stitch to make sure all the flowers ended up on the same side of the fabric.

The little blue thread is meant to hold it all together, I suppose. The spinning is uneven to say the least, but if one wants flowers spun into the wool, one puts up with a lot.

I need some cold days coming up, to wrap this cheerful bit of woollen whimsy around my neck.

Will I get cold weather? Toronto's winter is supposed to be horrible, but... I won't be in Toronto!

We are setting off in three weeks for Cambridge, back to a flat with a view of the mighty Cam! We should be home in Toronto for Christmas and then we will be three or four months in Vancouver, with a view of the mighty Burrard Inlet! Renting other people's homes for short stays is sure a good way to experience some nice places. I hope... ask me when we've actually done this!

So now we have to clean up our house, have a farewell party, clean up our house again, get the house-sitter sorted, pack -- what will I need for two and a half months of knitting? There is another Stephen West mystery knitalong this October.... We have to eat up the food in the cupboard, I have to use up my swimming tickets and my gym tickets and ... oh, yes, it's time for TIFF again. I have tickets for only five movies, but I figured that was enough with all the stuff going on.

I hope to keep you posted! I hope to blog lots when I am back to actually knitting on the actual Cam! So exciting!

Two times three things on Thursday

I was out west last week, seeing my mother-in-law and my brother before we head off to Cambridge later in September.

Three pictures sum things up:

The flowers in Victoria were amazing! Dahlias all over the place, lilies, roses, flowers I don't even know the names of. This wonderful St John's Wort was part of a roadside carpet of yellow.

After a few days in Victoria, we took the bus to the ferry terminal and went to Salt Spring to see my brother. There was a bad accident on the road, so the bus, which should have got us there with minutes to spare for the 3 pm ferry, got us there at about 3:02, so we had to wait for two hours for the next boat. (Picture taken from the top of the double-decker bus, one of my favourite things about Victoria!)

On the island we did all the things... went to the Saturday market, discussed real estate ad nauseam and went for a couple of hikes.

There is an intriguing little bit of land jutting out the eastern side of the island, called Walkers Hook, which seems to be privately owned. We went to see what we could see, and the tide was so low that there was just mucky sand between the main island and the hook. In that link above you can see there appears to be a road/beach combo at the south bit, but we were in the middle of the bay. Lots of shells, little crabs and squelchy sand.

The next day we went down to the south end of the island, to gawk at some real estate friends of ours had just bought. Unfortunately all we could see was their driveway, but we thought the vendors were still living there so we couldn't really snoop very effectively. We found a trail through the nearby woods and had a nice walk.

Three tree pictures:

Three trees! Small, cedar, mossy.

A tree with lichens and moss.

A bit of a dead tree providing some nice rusty colour.

And now I must swing into action, but the tasks are overwhelming and I don't know where to start. Perhaps I'll go buy some eggs so I can do some baking. That surely must be about the most crucial thing on my list!

August plans

Things are getting out of hand here, so maybe it's a good idea to make a list.

In August I will:

Finish Elaine's longish underwear. Did I show you this?

I have one leg almost knit, have to buy more yarn, and hope to have them done in a week or so.

In typical vintage-pattern style, no sizing is given and although I think they will fit her, we really just have to wait and see. Were women really all the same size in 1940? 

I would like to get these done before taking off on a week's trip out to Victoria. On that trip I think I will take my British sheepy wool and make a hat and mitts, but no promises are being made about that just yet. There might be a different hat!

My really big project is I have to get Elaine sent off to university! Which means I have to stand by while she packs, I might have to shell out some cash now and then and I am supposed to not fuss (the hardest part).

And! I then have to move myself and my husband to England for a couple of months. We'll be back on the Cam, where it all began... As it happens, I think our little rental place is just across the river from where we were in 2005, so there will be more walking along the towpath and more watching the rowers! We are not going till later in September, so perhaps this doesn't even need to be on the August list at all. 

We will be renting (for a pittance) our house to a friend's daughter. Good for her to have the independence, good for us to have someone in the house. We could get way more money if we did way more clearing out and cleaning up, but I think we can prepare for this situation without too much trouble. I hope. I started emptying the hall dresser for her... How many hats and scarves and mitts and cowls and shawls does one family need, I ask you! 

So, knit some knickers and clean up the house. Here I go!